Getter and the application thereof



Patented Aug. 1, 1939 GETTER AND THE APPLICATION THEREOF uoya n. Lockwood, Madison, N. a, assignor to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania No Application November i, 1938, Serial No..109 ,762,

19 Claims."

This invention relates to incandescentelectric lamps and more particularly to a maintenance getter which will clean up carbon and carbon monoxide. a One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of a maintenance getter to replace that usually employed and thereby avoid certain diillculties arising in connection with factory operation. v

Another object of my invention is the provision of a maintenance getter which is non.- hygroscopic and has no water of crystallimtion.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a getter which will not etch the tungsten I55 filament even if an excess stays in contact therewith,

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a maintenance getter having large and irregular crystal sizes so'as to form a spongy 20 mass on the bulb.

other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

The development of the present invention occurred when searching for a getter for two dis- 25 tinct purposes: first, a material was desired which wouldclean up carbon and carbon monoxide as these'two materials have been troublesome in connection with lamp manufacturing; second, a getter was desired which would give better maintenance than cryolite (NaaAlFo) and which could be used to replace sodium farrlc fluoride (NasFeFo) Sodium ferric fluoride is an excellent maintenance getter but has three had features which make itscontrol difllcult in factory operation. First, the material takes up water readily and so has to be handled in order to keep moisture away'and all work must move fast through the factory. Any gettered material delayed during production has to be scrapped. Second, the preas just enough heat must be applied in order to remove the water of crystallization and to decompose about ten per cent of.the getter ma-. terial, but not enough to burn it. Thisheat is so high that the operators have burned fingers and i the on cracked bulbs and related items is apt to be large. If the preheat is not controlled over the required narrow range, excessive heat causes burning of the getter, while insuflicient heat produces a lamp which isoapparently good on initial test, but which gets very gassy and arcs after about twenty minutes burning.

Third. the getter must be applied. evenly on ,the filament and flashed fast, as a. small with the tungsten and causes an etched spot, resulting in short life.

In accordance with my invention I propose to replace sodium ferric fluoride witha double fluoride including a metal of the alkali or alkaline" a earth group and a heavy element such as one of the group including uranium and thorium. This compound-has been found to be preferably potassium uranium fluoride, (KilFs) which is not hygroscopic, has no water of crystallization, and will not etch the tungsten filament, even if a particle does stay in contacttherewith.

The improved form of getter may be used either alone, with phosphorus, or with other materials, excluding or including phosphorus, as desired.

One formula which has been found satisfactory is 94 parts of poassium uranium fluoride and 6- parts phosphorus. Another formula is 95 parts of potassium uranium fluoride and 5 parts 01" phosphorus; A satisfactory formula of the type,

including materials other than phosphorus in order to make the getter flash more readily, maybe made by mixing 48 parts of potassium uranium fluoride with 98 parts of barium fluoride (Bal 's) 21 parts of calcium fluoride (Can), 21 parts magnesium fluoride (MgFz), and 12 parts of phosphorus. ,If desired, however, the phosphorus may be omitted as well as certain other ingredients; For example, a satisfactory getter has been made by mixing 19 parts of potassium uranium fluoride with 1 part of phosphorus. Another formula for good results included i7 parts of potassium uranium fluoride and 3 parts of phosphorus. p 1

The getter material" may be applied in any one of the usual ways; that is, 'forexample. as a suspension directly to the filament, or if employed with a coil filament, said getter maybe applied dry directly within the coils in accord-' ance with the Gustin Patent 1,813,571 of; July 4 'I, 1931, owned'by the 'assignee of the present application. Specific examples-follow:

200 grams. of the getter powder is milled with 150 to 190 cc. of a liquid composed oi nitrocellulose, 200 seconds viscosity, dissolved in am] or butyl acetate, thinned with amyl or isopropyl acetate. This milled mix is then put in a cup and the wire passed through it. After allowing to dry, the I getter-ed wire is then passed through a binder cup which coats nitrocellulose over the getter to .hold it on. The binder may be an amyl acetate suspension. a The milled mix, as above, may be further thinned for use with a spray gun: for example,

with flve parts ethyl acetate'or with six parts-5s of a small brush which dips into the getter and is approximately 800 centigrade.

[ methanol, ether, nitrocellulose mixture. and. three parts nitrocellulose amyl acetate mixture.-

whole mount of coil, leads, and supports, or some- Y times just the coil, is dipped into the milled mix suspension. The lead tips, and sometimes the coil, may also be painted with the mixture by use touches the lead tips at the required point.

The following tables show the results using my improved form of getter, compared with those attained in using a sodium ferric fluoride or iron getter.

' V Percent Initial efli- Mean effi- Lii'eat initial No. of ciency ior ciency for Type of getter ,labeled lumens lamps voltage g 3 at 1,000

hours Lamps designed for 2,000 hours Lampe designed ior 1.000 hours- 30 1037 11.10 i. KUFrG 30 1067 11. ll

Factory production In! Initial efll- Peroent Per- Percent Bercent a a of air cent broken total c ga r mp8 lamps gassy bulbs shrinkage The 184 getter means one containing ninety six parts of sodium ferric fluoride and four parts instead of cryolite, fe g example, to me, is that,

the three salts -flrst mentioned are non-hygroscopic and will not afl'ect the tungsten-evemif fused on an incandescent filament. The spegifled. proportions were chosen because such a eutectic mixture gives the lowest vaporization point which If only BaF: were employed, it would not vaporize until the temperature above 1200 C. was reached, which would make flashing too slow.

produced, and is somewhat hygroscopic, although not as much as sodium ferric fluoride.

Cryolite will attack and etch tungsten, 'if any free aluminum is.

Although preferred embodiments of my invention have been disclosed, it will be understood that modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A maintenance getter comprising potassium uranium fluoride. v

2. A getter comprising potassium uranium fluoride and phosphorus.

3. A maintenance getter comprising potassium uranium fluoride and a mixture of fluorides of group 2 metals. 1

a 4. A getter comprising .potassium uranium fluoride, a mixture of fluorides of group 2 metals, and phosphorus.

5. A getter comprising potassium uranium fluoride, and a mixture of fluoridesof barium,

calcium, and magnesium.

6. A getter comprising potassium-uranium fluoride, a mixture of the fluorides of barium, calcium, and magnesium, and phosphorus.

7. A maintenance getter comprising a double fluoride of uranium and an alkali or alkaline earth metal. 8. A getter comprising a double fluoride of calcium and an'element of the group including uraniumand thorium.

- 9. A maintenance getter comprising a double fluoride of a metal of the alkali or alkaline earth group, and an element of the group comprising uranium and thorium.

10. A getter comprising forty-eight partsv of potassium uranium fluoride, ninety-eight parts of barium fluoride, twenty-one parts of calcium fluoride, and twenty-one parts of magnesium fluoride.

11. A getter comprising forty-eight parts of potassium uranium fluoride, ninety-eight parts of barium fluoride, twenty-one parts of calcium fluoride, twenty-one parts of magnesium fluoride, andphosphorus.

12. A getter comprising potassium uranium fluoride mixed with other fluorides which will promote flashing from the carrying filament.

13. A getter comprising potassium uranium fluoride-mixed with other fluorides which will promote flashing from the carrying fllament, and phosphorus.

14. A getter comprising about nineteen parts of potassium uranium fluoride and one part of phosphorus.

15. A getter comprising about forty-seven parts of potassium uranium fluoride and three parts of phosphorus.

16. A filament coated with potassium uranium fluoride.

'17. A fllament coated with a mixture of potassium uranium fluoride and phosphorus.

18. A filament coated with a mixture of potassium uranium fluoride, and fluorides of bar- 'ium, calcium and magnesium.

19. A filament coated with a mixture of potassium uranium fluoride, barium fl ride, calcium fluoride, magnesium fluoride, and Fhosphorus.

LLOYD n. rlocxwoon. 

